I just found out I have Hashimotos (SP?)

I went to a new endo (who didn't make me cry by calling me fat to my face like the other one) and she said that I was at risk for diabetes and that I have hashimotos because of my elevated thyroid antibodies. She just said for now to try to lose some weight and eat healthier. She was very nice and made up for the other experience I had.

Instead of the other doctors calling you fat and making you feel bad about yourself, maybe they should have fixed your obvious thyroid problem and maybe, just maybe the weight gained would no longer be a problem.

Before any of these "doctors" tell you with certainty you are diabetic, do yourself a BIG HUGE favor and go online and buy yourself an A1C test. This is a test of your average blood glucose for the last 3 months.

Due to my thyroid being shot, I am heavy also and every Endo I saw took a look at my weight and said "diabetes" or "pre-diabetes" - apparantly their new favorite buzz word. Well, once I got a REAL doctor and took this A1C test which is the gold standard for checking dibetes, my A1C level was 4.8, which is absolutely FLAWLESS with regard to glucose in my system. If anything its actually a little low.

So, to summarize, many Endos don't know crap about Thyroid and treat a billion diabetics a year. They see a heavy patient come into their office and right away tell you you're diabetic. It pisses me off man! DO YOURSELF A FAVOR - order the A1C test online, nick your finger with the finger stick and send a drop of blood back to the company so you know for sure. An A1C test score of 6 or higher can be cause for concern with regard to diabetes but at least you will know if its your thyroid messing up your sugar, as it certainly can be, or if you are truly diabetic or pre-diabetic or risk being so in the future. Get the test. Any test score below 5 is nearly perfect I had been told. The higher your number, the greater the risk you are for diabetes. With diabetes in my family, my doctor specifically wanted my A1C score below 5, which it was thankfully.

She said that she didn't want to put me on meds until I had lost some weight to see if that helped the symptoms. She didn't want to put me on the meds because she said that she is not sure if it would help or hurt me at this point.

Well, you probably can lose a few pounds at 5'7" 180 regardless of your muscle. Its not huge by any means but its not lean either so you would benefit. BUT, you will find it difficult to lose unless you get your thyroid straight. Your symptoms you mention are classic Hashi's. I go through the same exact thing. If your doctor tells you otherwise, find someone else. My quack doctor told me my problem was anxiety and I literally threw my 20 buck co pay at the nurse and said "HERE...THANKS FOR WASTING MY TIME AGAIN! I WON'T NEED A FOLLOW UP APPOINTMENT WITH THIS GUY".

For you specifically, yes, losing weight will benefit some. It will lower your BP and stabilize your sugar and might make you feel a touch better. However, nothing is going to stop your antibodies from raging out of control and that is what produces the ill effects of Hashis.

Find a new doctor, Liz. This one doesn't understand your problems and she's not about to learn. As midwest told me many, many months ago, you might be broken, but you can be fixed; your doctor is just plain stupid and you can't fix that.

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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

LOL.. this doctor is actually a lot better than my other one. I don't know if anyone remembers my other post about my bad interaction with an old man doctor that kept calling me fat to my face. This new doctor took some new tests and she's gonna let me know what they mean/say.

I feel like I am missing something here. How is it that you were tested for the antibodies without having any bloodwork done to test thyroid function? I am guessing that you were tested and the numbers were so normal that they decided to hold off on treatment? No responsible doctor is going to put a patient on thryoid meds if their numbers dont warrant it at all. That would be a malpractice case right there.

But if you have for some reason been tested for antibodies without having any thyroid bloodwork done, ( and I find that VERY hard to swallow) then you are runnning into more than your share of quacks. Something doesnt add up here, so I am likely missing half of this story, maybe a different thread?

It is totally possible to have antibodies and not have numbers enough out of wack yet for treatment.

If you like the doctor, just ask them to explain. People on the internet are good company and great for support, but none of us are qualified to play doctor here, and you should be turning to yours with these concerns.

I got a little upset with my doctor because my TSH was rising and although my numbers are all at the middle of the range I still felt like crap. Exhausted all the time, low body temps.....classic thyroid symptoms. When he wouldnt up my meds ( because my numbers continue to inch up and will someday reach the higher side on the dose I am on) I started playing DR like so many here do. I informed him that my rising TSH was evidence that my thyroid was having to work harder because he had me undermedicated. He did not agree and he explained to me what was happening with TSH.
Then he said that he understood that I was exhausted and cold but that we needed to find what else was afoot because it was not my thyroid levels causing all this.
He ordered an absolute ton of tests. The nurses commented that they rarely see so many go out.
If I had gotten my own way, I would be on a higher levoxyl dose, waiting months for it's affect to kick in, and I would have missed a problem that needs addressing asap. Hashimoto's is not the only autoimmune I am suffering from ( tho I wish I could go back to just having that).

So that's the other side of the coin. They arent all morons and we arent the experts here ( we just like to think we are )

Sorry.. I think my post was a little sparse. I had thyroid work done and it came back within 'normal' range. My dr couldn't believe that it wasn't thyroid related, so she decided to check the antibodies.

Early on, I saw an endo who firmly believes that thyroid antibodies and symptoms should be treated sooner rather than later... even before TSH rises and TH levels fall. She adheres to the most current way of thinking, that antibodies spell certain doom for the gland, and that treating sooner will prevent goiter and suffering from symptoms.

I don't feel that we "play doctor" here. Helping others to understand their disease by sharing experiences isn't a bad thing.